BB ISP - Not Talk Talk and our Exchange not LLU

I'm currently with Talk Talk, but for various reasons (like being sold the promise of "free" broadband, when in fact there are no plans to unbundle our exchange)

TT have now agreed to release me from our contract, waive the dissconnection fee, and give us a MAC code.

So now I am looking for a new broadband supplier with the following criteria:

Our exchange is not LLU'd and will not be in the forseeable future, so I guess that means it must either be BT, or another provider reselling a BT Wholesale product.

We are about 5KM from the exchange and currently only get a speed of 0.5 meg, though I think our line might support up to 1 meg. So theres no point whatsoever in paying more for a fast service, our line won't support it.

For various reasons we want to keep the telephone service with Talk Talk, just change the broadband over to another provider.

We only use it for general surfing, no huge downloads, so will accept a reasonable bandwidth limit.

My main criteria is a cheap service, but also customer support is fairly important (We are two weeks in to trying to get a fault sorted with Talk Talk broadband)

Don't have Sky or any form of pay tv, so that's not an option and no cable here out in the sticks.

Newnet Home Lite sounds like a good bet. 3GB data allowance, 1 month contract, UK based support for �13 a month.

Regards,
Steve

Indeed! See my sig.

A slightly biased comparison, but only because it omits IDNet and Entanet, both of which are more expensive for these needs.

Newnet Home Lite sounds like a good bet. 3GB data allowance, 1 month contract, UK based support for �13 a month.

That looks good. Particularly if you pay annually it works out at �11.95 per month.

Next question. I see they charge �24.99 for a router and more for a wireless router. I already have the Huawei Smartax MT882 modem (supplied by TT) that feeds my desktop PC, and a seperate Wireless inserter to supply the wireless feed to my laptop. Will I still be able to use the same hardware? I.e will I just have to change the user name and password within the modem or is that modem (like some I understand) firmware locked to just one ISP?

And what's the signup procedure like? Is is simply a matter of entering the user name and password into an already functioning modem, or do I have to use some complicated setup software (which if it is anything like Talk Talk's assist and go doesn't work and is cr@p anyway)

Edited by ProDave (Wed 26-Mar-08 19:58:07)

I'd be wary of paying 12 months in advance to save �1 a month as they do not offer refunds should your needs or circumstances change.
As for the modem and wireless access point they should probably work with any ISP and it should simply be a case of changing the username and password in the modem software. You won't need any silly setup software.
In the unlikely event that your modem is locked to TalkTalk avoid buying hardware from ISPs as they are usually quite expensive. Something like a Billion Wireless modem/router would be suitable, and Billions have a good reputation for being stable on long lines. In fact I'd go as far as saying ditch the modem if at all possible and get a router, they're just so much better than USB modems.

Regards,
Steve

Edited by sjr (Wed 26-Mar-08 20:30:12)

In fact I'd go as far as saying ditch the modem if at all possible and get a router, they're just so much better than USB modems

I am probably confusing you by using the wrong terminology.

My "modem" (as TT describe it) has both a USB and an Ethernet port. But only 1 port. Initially that was just connected to my PC via Ethernet and it worked fine I have never used the USB connection.

Then we got the laptop and wanted to use that as well, at the same time, via it's wireless network. So I bought a "wireless broadband router" That has 4 ethernet ports, so the ethernet from the "modem" plugs into one of those, and the ethernet to the desktop pc plugs into another. It all works fine.

I have had confirmation from TT that the modem is not locked to just them so should work.

So I will probably just stick with what I have. Of course if ever the modem / router etc goes wrong, then I will buy something new and better.

And quite right, I think the extra �1 per month for pay monthly on a monthly contract is well worth it. I was in an 18 month contract with TT and am only able to leave that early without penalty because they have admitted I was miss sold "free" broadband.

Yes, if your setup is all ethernet then that's fine, no reason to change anything. In which case all you will need to do when you migrate to your new ISP is change the username and password in the modem.

Regards,
Steve

I'm very much a Newnet believer for usage under 20GB per month, but even I stick with a monthly contract. You just never know what might happen to them or you. We are talking 3.3p per day.

As your modem isn't locked you should be fine. As sjr says, you just put in your new username and password. You get an email telling you the procedure. It may have changed since I joined a year ago, but it was quite confusing about IP addresses. Just ignore that as it's irrelevant anyway as long as you stick with the automatic options.

Currently I'm using a SpeedTouch 585v6 refurbished wireless modem/router from DSL Depot. �23.98 including Vat and postage. Plenty of people on these forums buy these and other stuff from them. So if you do have any problems now or in the future, ask for the latest info on here and think of that sort of solution.

Hello there,

Have you considered ourt BBYW Option 1 @ �9.99 per month?

It offers a 1GB peak time (8am-12am) usage allowance and sounds ideal for your needs. If you think that you'll be using a bit more than that, there's Option 2 @ �14.99, giving 8GB usage.

Let me know if you have any queries regarding our services

Have you considered ourt BBYW Option 1 @ �9.99 per month?

Thanks, that looks interesting.

One thing that is not clear, is can I keep my telephone line rental and calls with Talk Talk, and just have that internet broadband service?

The main reason I want to keep the telephone with TT is unbelievably, when I enquired to BT about moving the telephone line back to them, they could not guarantee that I would keep the same telephone number, saying about 50% of the time you get a new number. Since I am self employed and all my advertising uses my current home phone number, changing number is NOT an option.

Also if I choose this BB supplier, can I use my existing modem / router. i.e is it just a case of entering the user name and password into the modem, or do I have to use the modem they supply?